OSHAWA -- After a burst of registrations at the beginning of the year, the number of candidates signing up to run for Oshawa council has dropped off.

Currently there are three people registered to run for mayor. Though the current mayor has said he plans to run again, he has not registered. If the election were held today, all council spots would be acclaimed as there are seven people running for seven Regional council seats and three people running for three local council seats.

Among them are five incumbents from the current council.

Oshawa uses a general vote for council spots as opposed to dividing the city into wards. Voters will be asked to choose seven Regional and three local councillors from among the list of all candidates registered to run.

Meanwhile, a special council meeting is scheduled for the end of the month for public comment on a ballot question related to the method of election in Oshawa.

The proposed referendum question reads: “Should the Council of the City of Oshawa pass a bylaw so that all Oshawa Councillors, other than the Mayor, are elected by ward vote instead of general vote?”

The meeting will be held in the council chamber at City Hall, 50 Centre St. S., on Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m.

(1) Comment

By Joshua|FEBRUARY 08, 2014 09:00 PM

Proud to be an early candidate for the position of Oshawa City Council. I personally am hoping that Oshawa supports a return to the Ward system on the ballot as an at large system provides in my opinion a lot more confusion and detracts the focus from community issues.